Contradicting previous assumptions that the food crisis of 2007- 08 and the current economic crisis shared little in common, this article reveals their similar macroeconomic origins. It also reveals the compounded severity of impacts they are imposing on the poorest of the world's poor, most of them living in rural areas in developing countries - the over 1.4 billion absolutely poor and the over 1 billion projected to be facing hunger by the end of 2009. By identifying the channels through which the effects of these crises are reaching the world's most economically marginalised communities, the article urges the international community to respond with leveraged investments in agriculture and rural development.

Dr Christoph Kohlmeyer
Bonn, Germany
Christoph.Kohlmeyer@gmx.de